No Jacob Clark? No problem. The Senior QB and leader of the team sat out injured in last night’s contest in Murfreesboro, but the recently promoted Missouri St Bears found a win against MTSU. Now 3-3 this team is competing just as Clark said over the Summer, “We aren’t going to back down to anybody.” Wins over Marshall, UT Martin, and now MTSU and losses to Western Kentucky, USC, and SMU. Not bad for a small school from Springfield. In fact, it’s quite phenomenal.

Coming into the year, Missouri St’s had a win projection of 4.5. Over the Summer they were listed as Underdogs in all but 1 game on their schedule (UT Martin). To say that Missouri St is overachieving at the moment would be correct if we compare them to the preseason projections from the “experts.” Bud Eliot is a voice that I heard back in July or so that set their season’s ceiling around shoelace level. Based on preseason expectations this team certainly could be seen as overachieving.

However, there is a strong possibility that inside the locker room, they will feel they could still be so much better. I mean, this team will know quite well how they competed with SMU in front of a record crowd back on Week 3. Even though they were eventually defeated by eighteen, they competed all over the field with the formidable ACC foe. Maybe the visiting Mustangs enjoyed too much pregame “gas station cashew chicken.”

Regardless of how well they played against SMU, Missouri St will be disappointed that they are not at least 4-2. The Western Kentucky loss by five will be haunting. The question will have to be–Would the result be the same if Jacob Clark doesn’t leave injured in the final 80 seconds of the first half? Who knows, but I think odds are strong that they go on to win that game if Clark is healthy.

It had been 1st and goal from the 6 but back-to-back failed run plays left the Bears with an improbable 3rd and goal from the 15. On this play Clark scrambled and stumbled down to the 2, but he came up injured. This left the Bears with a 4th and goal from the 2 in a 10-6 ball game. If they had their trusty QB fully healthy, there is a good chance that they go for it. Who knows? Maybe they score there. Again, they lost by five. In theory, the field goal they settled for did nothing for them, but it was the safest call given that the Clark was out.

What I’m driving at is that inside the locker room and on the practice field, there won’t be any resting on ‘winning three games through six’ or ‘winning despite the expectations.’ There will be a hunger and desire to make up for the one that got away. A focus on past mistakes, to improve and not repeat them. Misfortune can be the high-octane fuel that projects a team into the stratosphere, but it can also be the sixteen-ton center anchor that drags everything to the bottom.

All I can deduce after last night’s road win is that the misfortune of losing Jacob Clark and losing the game prior is being used to fuel future wins, and not as a recipe for future failures. Perhaps Clark wasn’t being hyperbolic at all. This team isn’t ‘backing down’ to anybody.

Missouri St will be on a bye next week and will have plenty of time to regroup and perhaps get some key guys healthy before making the long drive to Las Cruces for a game with New Mexico St October 22nd.

Keep working hard Bears. It’s a long road.

• By the way, in the one game they were favored, they beat UT Martin 42-10. Missouri St 1-0 as a favorite.
• And unrelated, but there is a historical marker nestled in the East TN rolling hills that features a bit about the famous sixteen-ton Titanic Center Anchor. It’s a perfect time of year to visit.

Find the Humor and Keep on Movin’

Whit W.